Topic: Improving Performance with Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI)

In this webinar, John Choate will share how Gen AI can help your organization improve performance. Gen AI can help organizations track and analyze key performance indicators (KPIs) across various categories, such as customer satisfaction, financial performance, and market share, providing actionable insights for continuous improvement. Additionally, by leveraging Gen AI to enhance agility and resilience, organizations can better anticipate, prepare for, and respond to change and uncertainty. AI can provide the insights, tools, and capabilities needed to make faster, more informed decisions, optimize resources, and maintain continuity in the face of disruptions.

John Choate is a US Air Force combat services veteran with 10 years of experience in ICBMs 1&3, global nuclear logistics-transportation, and global Logistics Technology/data systems. He was the first in USAF history certified as a Logistics-Transportation Computer expert. In the commercial space, he drives top customer results by leveraging Technology Innovation to transform business and functional operations. As a “trusted advisor”, he incorporates data-driven visibility, risk assessment, and machine/generative AI into business planning and tactical cross-functional team execution. As a collaborative innovator, he utilizes the latest tools and technologies to drive performance improvements that directly benefit his customers through increased revenue/profit, lower costs, and enhanced team productivity. John has an Executive MBA from Pepperdine University, an MS from Troy State University, and a BS from Washington State University. He enjoys sharing insights as a subject matter expert (SME) speaker and author.

The Power of Storytelling will be presented by two distinguished participants from New Mexico. These two gentlemen come from very different backgrounds, yet share equal respect for the power of storytelling, particularly when it comes to embedding Culture.  And, as we all know, culture, is a key driver of performance excellence.

Why storytelling works. From native lands to the national laboratories, we are honored to present:

Henry Silentman serves on Quality New Mexico Board of Directors and the Baldrige Alliance Board of Directors. Henry also serves on the International Economic Development Council (IEDC) Board of Directors and the Arizona District Export Council, a US Commerce Secretary-appointed position. Henry is an experienced State and National Baldrige Examiner, recently participating in the 2024 Baldrige reimagined national Examiner training. As a native New Mexican, he knows firsthand the power of Storytelling, learning the Navajo language, culture and traditions from his elders, without a written language. His extensive experience of oral traditions combined with his Baldrige knowledge makes Henry uniquely qualified to share insight into the power of storytelling.

Bill Wadt currently serves on the board of Quality New Mexico and chairs the board of the Los Alamos Commerce and Development Corporation. He retired after 34 at Los Alamos National Laboratory. In 1984, Bill was named by Science Digest as one of the 100 brightest scientists in the US under 40. Bill has been active with Quality New Mexico throughout his career and most recently, was instrumental in opening the door for Northern NM three counties, Rio Arriba, Los Alamos, and Santa Fe, to join Communities of Excellence as one group, in the 2023 Cohort. Bill will share how a top LANL executive leader used storytelling to help staff understand the direction the national laboratory was taking using a story written by Dr. Seuss. Bill will also share with us a story about apricot tarts.

Are you ready to unlock the secrets to professional success and organizational excellence? Join us for an exclusive FREE webinar designed to introduce you to the world of Lean Six Sigma!

In just one hour, you'll explore the fundamental principles of Lean Six Sigma and discover how it can boost your career forward while significantly enhancing your organization's performance. Led by industry expert Edwin Boon, GE certified Master Black Belt and CEO of The Lean Six Sigma Company USA, this webinar promises to be both enlightening and empowering.

Whether you're in manufacturing, healthcare, government, financial services, or any other sector, Lean Six Sigma offers valuable insights and strategies to drive continuous improvement and performance.

Do you aspire to enhance your problem-solving skills and become a catalyst for positive change within your organization? Are you curious about how Lean Six Sigma can unlock new possibilities for growth and success?

Don't miss this opportunity to get an introduction to Lean Six Sigma and how it can help you and your organization.

Topic: Ideation to Realization: Accelerating Mission with Artificial Intelligence

How do you transform visionary ideas into sustainable realities? This webinar, featuring Adventist Health White Memorial (AHWM), a 2019 Baldrige Award winner, in collaboration with Mednition, will highlight their journey in integrating and expanding the use of artificial intelligence to fulfill their organizational mission. The session will showcase how this partnership has set new healthcare quality and operational excellence standards. Utilizing an innovative framework, their joint efforts have significantly improved patient outcomes, enhanced workforce well-being and retention, and boosted financial performance.

Mara Bryant As Operations Executive, Mara Bryant leads out key initiatives integrating the Malcolm Baldrige business framework, strategic planning, and organizational performance. In 1999, she became Adventist Health's first national Malcolm Baldrige examiner in the healthcare category, which has helped White Memorial better understand and implement the Malcolm Baldrige criteria. Bryant has also set up an effective productivity standard to monitor staffing and help ensure correct nursing ratios. She also established the decision support function to provide comparative data, vital to strategic and operational planning.

Steven Reilly is the CEO and Co-founder of Mednition, an industry-leading artificial intelligence company that improves patient, staff, and hospital outcomes with clinician-first real-time clinical guidance and risk detection in Emergency Departments with KATE AI. Steven has a long history of developing and guiding key transformations within organizations in a career that began in the complex world of management consulting as well as later success as an entrepreneur before turning these skills to the healthcare sector.

Out of a deeply personal experience with his daughter in an emergency department, he used his professional expertise and unwavering commitment to transform healthcare, enacting change where it’s needed to create a healthier and safer future for everyone. Mednition's team is mission-driven and passionate about impacting the lives of patients and healthcare professionals through meaningful advancements in real-time clinical risk detection, thereby supporting the best possible decisions for patients for over 2 million patients.

The California Council for Excellence partnered with The Lean Six Sigma Company and will offer Green Belt and Black Belt virtual training classes starting February 5, 2024. Accelerate your career and read below on how to get your international certification through virtual classroom training!

Classes sell out fast | Seating is limited | Sign up NOW!!!!

• International recognized certifications

• Courses include both Lean and Six Sigma modules

• Courses include simulations, interactive exercises, videos, and much more

• Exam fees included

• We hold our own exam, so no need to go somewhere else for that

• No prerequisites - go straight for Green Belt or Black Belt

• Courses are given in partnership with Performance Excellence Network in Minnesota, Wisconsin Center for Performance Excellence, Mid Atlantic Alliance for Performance Excellence, Community of Excellence 2026, Tennessee Center for Performance Excellence, California Council for Excellence, Performance Excellence Northwest, and Rocky Mountain Performance Excellence.

• Presence in more than 30 countries with over 4,000 customers and more than 50,000 trained students

 Accelerate your career with our International Green Belt and Black Belt certifications, which start on February 5, 2024, through The Lean Six Sigma Company via virtual classroom.

Courses start on February 5, 2024 - for more information or to register, click below on the following buttons:

If you have any questions, you can reach The Lean Six Sigma Company at:

By email: edwin@theleansixsigmacompany.com

By phone: (612) 445-2370

Topic: Using Comparisons to Drive Higher Performance

Pagliacci Pizza is an independently owned company with 26 pizzerias in the greater Seattle area. When they did their first application using the Baldrige criteria, they lamented a lack of comparative data. This time-honored applicant tradition was met with an equally time-honored examiner response to go find some. This presentation tells the story of how Pagliacci accepted the challenge and started to refine their results and seek (and find!) comparative data.

John Clifford started making pizzas professionally when he was fifteen years old. Many years later, he is still making pizzas but is way better at it than he was then. When not in the stores helping customers, tossing dough, or topping pies, John is the Senior Director of Training and Development at Pagliacci Pizza. He has been helping Pagliacci along its Baldrige journey and has served as a Baldrige examiner at both the regional and national levels. He also serves on the board of directors for Performance Excellence Northwest (PENW).

New Year's Resolutions are nice, but nothing will ever take the place of ACTION. Let's JUMPstart into 2024 together!!

Join Dr. Bryan K. Williams on January 17th for a complimentary webinar.

This webinar will focus on best practices to create and sustain a workplace that attracts and retains high performers.

Topics will include:

• Importance of leading the whole person

• Impact of Modeling, Trusting & Inspiring on team culture

• Best practices to re-energize team culture

Registration is open to anybody.

This FREE, unique webinar is 1 hour in length and introduces you to two key Lean Six Sigma principles to drive significant productivity gains in your organization:

• Waste

• Problem-solving

Now more than ever organizations need to respond to competitive pressures and growing market share with less headcount!

 So how can organizations do this?

The answer is productivity! You need to figure out how to do more with less. Learning how to recognize waste is the key to success. This webinar will introduce you to various types of waste and show that waste is more prevalent in your processes than many of us realize.

Recognizing waste is only the first step, next you focus on eliminating it. This webinar will also introduce you to the various problem-solving techniques, so you can start driving productivity gains for your organization.

This webinar will be hosted by Edwin Boon, GE-certified Master Black Belt and CEO of The Lean Six Sigma Company USA.

Topic: The Importance of Mission in a Framework for Achieving High Reliability and Performance Excellence

Integrated approaches are only valuable if they consistently produce desired outcomes. To achieve high reliability and excellence, organizations must embrace their mission and shift from rules-based to principles-based decision-making. This conversation will explore the goals of a highly reliable organization and connect a high-reliability framework with the Baldrige Excellence Framework.

Suzie Berregaard earned a Bachelor of Science in Forestry from Iowa State University, a Juris Doctorate with Honors from Drake University Law School, and a Graduate Certificate in Healthcare Corporate Compliance from George Washington University. She is the Director of Operations for the Office of Quality Management at the Department of Veterans Affairs. Suzie is also a licensed lawyer and Nursing Home Administrator and has certifications in Human Resources, Healthcare Compliance, and Healthcare Quality.

This FREE unique webinar is 1 hour in length and introduces you to the basic principles of Lean Six Sigma, shows you how it can accelerate your professional career and at the same time significantly improve your organizational performance.

In this webinar, you will also learn the various training options, and which one is the best fit for you.

Do you want to improve your problem-solving skills to help your department or organization excel in their performance? Do you see improvement opportunities in your workplace and are you curious how Lean Six Sigma can help you?

This introductory Lean Six Sigma webinar will explain all that.

WHAT YOU WILL LEARN:

• What is Lean Six Sigma?

• What are the most important Lean Six Sigma techniques to improve business processes, reduce costs, and improve the quality of your work environment?

• How your company can create more value for customers with Lean Six Sigma?

• What is the value of a Lean Six Sigma certificate and why this makes you so valuable for your organization?

• What are the various training options, and which one is the best fit for you?

Lean Six Sigma is not just for manufacturing. It is equally important for organizations like healthcare, government, financial services, etc.

This webinar will be hosted by Edwin Boon, GE-certified Master Black Belt and CEO of The Lean Six Sigma Company USA.

Topic: Engaging the Workforce - Process Improvement Fair

The City of Henderson, Nevada's Performance Management Program offers a comprehensive and forward-thinking approach in the data-driven age. This program, known as the "Path to Premier," embodies the city's aspirations to become one of the nation's top 10% of municipalities based on results. What sets this initiative apart is its alignment with the renowned Baldrige Excellence Framework, a proven methodology for organizational excellence. At its core, both the Path to Premier and the Baldrige Framework prioritize data efficiency as a means to elevate performance.

In addition to exploring the Baldrige Framework's principles, this event also illustrates how a forward-looking city like Henderson successfully implements them. This presentation promises to unravel the intricacies of finding your organization's premier qualities through Baldrige's tenets, providing valuable insights for any industry or sector. Today, where data-driven decision-making is the key

Join us at this presentation to discover how the Path to Premier is not just a vision but a tangible roadmap toward excellence. By attending, you'll gain valuable knowledge on how data-driven decision-making, inspired by the Baldrige Framework, can transform organizations. Don't miss out on this chance to learn from Henderson's experience and see how you can chart your own path to premier performance.

Kiersten Farmer, MPTE, MASS is an author, speaker, and Data Scientist at the City of Henderson. Her overarching mission is to transmute data-related challenges into pragmatic, actionable solutions that yield tangible, community-transformative results. She has earned degrees from Florida Agricultural & Mechanical University and the University of Maryland, College Park. Presently, she is a Ph.D. Candidate at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, where she is exploring the far-reaching impact of data culture and governance on organizational performance.

Topic: Engaging the Workforce - Process Improvement Fair

Oklahoma Indian Clinic will be showcasing its Process Improvement Fair. A unique best practice on sharing organizational-wide improvements and cycles of learning. This is a workforce-led fair highlighting the process improvement work done throughout the year. Project leads are encouraged to reflect on the work that they've done throughout the year and to present the improvements that impact OCIC’s mission. It is also a contest to appeal to the competitive nature of the staff. Staff are encouraged to visit the displays throughout the day and to cast their vote on which project had the most significant impact.  

Kaitlin Hixson, MPA is the Director of Continuous Improvement. She currently holds a Green Belt and is in the process of starting her Black Belt. She began her career at the Clinic as a Training Coordinator for the Quality Department before being promoted to the director role.

Topic: Achieving Excellence – 4 Ideas that Will Change the Way You See Your Organization

All organizations face diverse issues that constantly stretch resources. Issues like changing customer expectations, fighting for talent, data and security, and sustainability – the list is long and the challenge to meet new demands is only changing faster and getting harder to manage. So how do you achieve the success you want given the diversity of issues you face and the limits to resources you have? Join Mike Gratz as he shares four ideas that will change how you see your organization.

Mike Gratz currently serves as the Executive Director of Rocky Mountain Performance Excellence helping organizations improve their performance and achieve their goals in Colorado, Nebraska, Wyoming, and Montana. Prior experience includes serving as CEO of multiple small, early-stage, or start-up organizations in biological technology. Mike has driven innovation by introducing patented technologies in every organization he led.

Topic: Preparing for the Future: Establishing Utilities University

Join us for a webinar with Bret Weingart Assistant Director of the Utilities Department in Oklahoma City, as he unveils the success story of Oklahoma City Water Utility Companies' In House University. What does it mean to provide some of the nation’s best drinking water and cleanest streets? Discover how this pioneering program addresses the challenges of an aging boomer generation and newer employees lacking interactive and technical skills. Learn about the core components, including the new employee onboarding program, training competencies, supervisory/management training initiative, and maintenance and operator certification programs. Don't miss this opportunity to explore game-changing strategies reshaping the workforce for the next fifty years at Oklahoma City Water Utility Companies.

Bret Weingart Assistant Utilities Director and Baldrige Journey Champion Oklahoma City Water and Utilities Trust

Topic: 2023–2024 Baldrige Excellence Framework

This webinar is designed to give participants an overview of the latest revisions to the Baldrige Excellence Framework booklets and their Criteria (business/nonprofit, health care, and education). The latest, two-year revision process will be explained, from the pursuit of feedback from all levels, to interviews, literature reviews, and webinars. Then, the overarching themes of the 2023-2024 Baldrige framework will be discussed, including why they were chosen based on feedback received and discussed. Finally, key revisions in each category and major section of the framework will be highlighted.

Dawn Bailey has been a writer/editor for the Baldrige Program since 2002. She served as the project manager for the 2023-2024 Baldrige Excellence Framework booklets. She holds a bachelor of arts degree from the University of Connecticut and a master’s degree in creative writing and editing from George Mason University.

Do you have the ambition to improve your problem-solving skills to help your department or organization excel in their performance? Do you see improvement opportunities in your workplace and are you curious how Lean Six Sigma can help you with that?

We’re joining our partner, The Lean Six Sigma Company, in hosting a complimentary one-hour webinar on Tuesday, July 18th at noon to introduce you to the basic principles of Lean Six Sigma, and ways Six Sigma can accelerate your professional career-- and significantly improve your organization’s performance! This introductory Lean Six Sigma webinar will cover: 

• What is Lean Six Sigma
• What are the most important Lean Six Sigma techniques to improve business/work processes, reduce costs and improve the quality of your work environment
• How your organization can create more value for customers/stakeholders with Lean Six Sigma
• What is the value of a Lean Six Sigma certificate and why this makes you so valuable for your organization
• What are the various training options (virtual, live or hybrid), and which one is the best fit for you and your enterprise or organization

Lean Six Sigma is not just for manufacturing. It is equally important for service organizations, schools and higher education, healthcare, government, financial services, nonprofits, and more!

Edwin Boon, GE-certified Master Black Belt and CEO of The Lean Six Sigma Company USA will host this free webinar. 

Registration for the July 18th webinar is s open to all!

Topic: Transforming Our Organization Using KPMs

Build your processes, communication, and accountability around your customer! Data, data, and more data turned into a story.

Wade Aschbrenner is the External Affair Officer for Altus Schools. The mission of Altus Schools is to bring a quality educational option to all students with the philosophy to put kids first through a personalized approach to education. Wade is responsible for facilitating external communications and community outreach for Altus Schools. He is beginning his 14th year at Altus Schools and has over 25 years of educational experience. He works closely with charter school operators, community organizations, and local elected officials to maximize the positive impact of charter schools in the San Diego region and to ensure that all students and families have access to high quality school options.  In 2021 he was named the Government Affairs volunteer of the Year by the Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce.

He currently serves as Vice-President of Alumni Engagement for the San Diego State Alumni Board and Secretary for the Rotary Club of La Jolla. He is a member of a of numerous organizations in the San Diego Region that support kids and families, those include the San Diego for Every Child, the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce and Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce Education Committee.

Join Communities of Excellence 2026 for a FREE informational webinar to learn more about our flagship program! You will learn the details of the program, how to get your community involved, and how to get started. We always make sure there's plenty of time for questions as well!

Please register by clicking the "REGISTER NOW" button!

CONTACT INFO

Stephanie Norling

snorling@communitiesofexcellence2026.org

619-719-1045

Topic: Cartooning in Quality

Artists need not attend. Charts, process maps, and other graphics are useful in Quality. But have you ever used a cartoon? Cartoons increase team engagement, simplify explanations, and provide an engaging way to promote process improvement. So, whether you can't draw a stick figure or love to doodle, attend this session to see how to use drawings and graphics and get people talking and working together in new ways. 

Craig “Doc” Plain, Ph.D. is a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt, an award-winning Speaker, a Shingo Prize Winner, a retired Lieutenant Colonel, and lifelong doodler. Doc has over 20 years of process improvement experience having facilitated over 200 improvement events for General Electric, US Air Force, US Navy, Kaiser Permanente, DaVita, and more. He has led process improvement programs for international companies and organizations up to 74,000 people. He shares his knowledge and experience by teaching at both Graduate and Undergraduate programs. Doc has been a keynote speaker, given Ignite Talks, and presented at numerous conferences and seminars.

Topic: Integrating Voice of the Customer Approaches in a large health system

Improving Patient Experience scores didn’t happen overnight at ProMedica but rather is a result of a multiple initiatives focused on listening to and engaging with customers and workforce.  Throughout its journey of excellence utilizing the Baldrige Excellence Framework, ProMedica has worked to enhance a culture of excellence with every customer interaction. Creating structural alignment, analyzing how to hear the voices of customers, and consistently reporting data in a transparent approach have all contributed to increased patient experience results. Early on, its Service Excellence department created a system level team, with representation from across the organization to focus on patient experience efforts.  The team worked together to devise basic expectations for every interaction, set long term goals for patient satisfaction results, and address the need for consistent transparent reporting across business units and divisions. Ashlie Fritz will share some best practices ProMedica implemented to create a culture of patient experience among workforce, how it measures the customers’ voice and creates alignment throughout the organization, and the resultant patient experience improvements it has experienced.

Ashlie Fritz has worked at ProMedica in system level departments for over 20 years with a focus around Quality and Patient Experience. Her passion for systematic approaches and fact-based decision making has fit well with ProMedica’s High Reliability culture shift. She has been involved with ProMedica’s TPE application team for the past seven years and as a TPE examiner for the past three years. Ashlie is also a recent National Baldrige examiner.

Join Communities of Excellence 2026 for a FREE informational webinar to learn more about our flagship program! You will learn the details of the program, how to get your community involved, and how to get started. We always make sure there's plenty of time for questions as well!

Please register by clicking the "REGISTER NOW" button!

CONTACT INFO

Stephanie Norling

snorling@communitiesofexcellence2026.org

619-719-1045

Topic: Delivering on our Commitment to Community Performance Excellence

Beginning in October 2016, leaders across the country have joined the Communities of Excellence (COE) National Learning Collaborative with the goal of using the Baldrige based COE Framework to support their communities in identifying and measuring key initiatives to address community health and wellbeing. Stephanie Norling will give a progress update on these communities and their performance excellence journeys and will describe how these experiences have led to an ambitious new strategy.

Stephanie Norling has been Executive Director of Communities of Excellence 2026 since 2014. She participated in the development of the Communities of Excellence Criteria, adapted from the Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence, and launched a National Learning Collaborative of communities to support use of the framework. Stephanie has a BA in Anthropology from Tufts University and an MBA and Certificate in Nonprofit Management from University of San Diego. Prior to joining COE, Stephanie worked for the Institute for Healthcare Improvement as a Project Coordinator and at the San Diego Zoo and Safari Park. She is also a National Baldrige Examiner and serves on the Alliance for Performance Excellence board.

Topic: Becoming a Superhero to our Customers and Community

Monstrous customer service is an evil our customers need to be rescued from! This webinar will provide practical tips on how to combat this enemy with a robust and effective customer service strategy. You will gain knowledge on how to identify and implement an effective approach (aligned with the Baldrige Criteria) for identifying, measuring, and improving customer service at your organization.

Polly Walker is the Manager of The Office of Performance and Innovation (OPI) for the City of Henderson, Nevada, a 2021 recipient of the SWAE Pinnacle Award of Excellence OPI maximizes organizational performance by providing strategic planning, customer experience, data management, and continuous improvement support and coordination Polly has 28 years of experience in regional, county and city government She holds a Master’s degree in Public Administration from the University of Oklahoma and an MBA from University of Phoenix.